Pro-Choice
'Pro-Choice - 11/27/2007 (https://www.debate.org/debates/ProChoice/1/)' Instigator: greenlove (Pro) Contender: PreacherFred (Con) Round 1 greenlove: "Pro-choice is defined as an ethical view that believes woman should be allowed complete control over their pregnancies and reproductive rights. Woman should be allowed the right to have control over their body's, and although many pro-life supporters considers a fetus to be a human life that is not so. If a legal abortion has taken place then the fetus is not considered a legal human life. In terms of religious ethics in Christianity the bible claims that a fetus is not equal to a life. The woman is considered a human life, and if she is murdered, then the murder will also be killed you shall appoint as a penalty life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth. However is the fetus is 'murdered' then the man in charge of the death will only be fines a woman with child so that she has a miscarriage, yet there is no further injury, he shall surely be fined not an eye for eye, etc. so a fetus is not considered a life. Only will the child in question be considered a human life at birth, not at contraception. "If men struggle with each other and strike a woman with child so that she has a miscarriage, yet there is no further injury, he shall surely be fined as the woman's husband may demand of him, and he shall pay as the judges decide. But if there is any further injury, then you shall appoint as a penalty life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth." Ex. 21:22-25 the New American Standard Bible There is the matter that if the woman is considered having an abortion then truthfully she would most likely not be a competent mother. The choice in a case such as that is to either abort the fetus, or to allow it to live in a poor environment with a incessant feeling of guilt on the child for living. In some cases people consider abortion because the fetus in question is the product of rape or incest. In the case of incest the child could suffer from genetic mutations, and that could possibly ruin the child's whole or majority of their life. In the case of rape, the child would live it's life only being the product of fear, and violence, not a precious human life. The mother would most likely be ill tempered to the child, thus giving the child several mental issues later in life. It has been said that fear and desperation drive humanity, and so a woman with child, whatever her logic of having an abortion would resort to a back alley abortion, if abortions were illegal. Another tragic scenario is that the mother would consider trying to have a miscarriage through the use of drugs, and the child would not miscarry, but be born with several mental and physical deformations. Would you truthfully ask a unborn child to be born in spite of these several ramifications? Also the child would not only most likely have a sad state of being, but the mother could suffer from health complications because of birth, or mental implications of many kinds. If the mother were to suffer mental or physical implications, but the child were to be healthy in their physical being, some family or others close to the mother would resent the child. The child would still suffer from an inferiority complex, depression, etc. even if the mother died, or was no longer capable of taking care of the child. Also in another scenario: The child is put up for adoption, but is informed about the state of his birth-mother post birth would yet again suffer from complexes and mental issues. A broken soul can break a body." PreacherFred: "Pro Life, while involving other subjects such as euthanasia, human cloning, etc. is used mostly in relation to abortion and fetal rights issues. I maintain that fetuses and embryos are, in fact, human beings and therefore have a right to life. Any action that destroys an embryo or fetus kills a human being and is ethically and morally wrong. This murder should not be mitigated by any perceived benefits to others such as ending the hardship of a woman with an unwanted or dangerous pregnancy. Such anticipated benefits come at the expense of the life of another human being. Human life, in any shape or form should retain the same rights as any other life. In the case of a fetus, it should be afforded more protection since it is not yet at the stage where it can defend itself. Similarly, children are afforded more protection than adults. Legal abortion denies the fetus due process protections that a criminal case requires before the imposition of the death penalty. Abortion is a form of infanticide! It is incomprehensible that a person may be pro-choice and against abortion at the same time. That would be like mixing oil with water. The Bible makes no specific mention of abortion, although it does mention unborn life several times. For example, Luke 1:44 cites Elizabeth exclaiming to Mary: "Behold, when the voice of your greeting came to my ears, the babe in my womb (John the Baptist) leaped for joy." Jeremiah 1:4-5, retelling God's appointment of Jeremiah to the prophet-hood, says: "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you." Such passages reveal the personhood of an embryo/fetus. The Roman Catholic Church, as well as other Christian religions in conjunction with a majority of scientists believe that human life is sacred, and begins at conception and, therefore, abortion is the equivalent of murder. Hinduism teaches that a fetus is a living, conscious person deserving of protection. The Hindu believe that there are 16 Samskaarams or Sanskaar during the life of an individual (soul) which starts at pre-birth at Garbhadhaan (Conception). This would mean that the Hindu believe life to begin at conception. Many disciplines of philosophy support Pro Life. An example is the natural law theory, which emphasizes the primacy of the right-to-life as being the most fundamental human right. Biologically speaking, the zygote created at fertilization possesses a unique genome of human DNA, a unique blood type, and all of the other essential biological manifestations of a living organism. This constitutes membership in the human specie and personhood whereby we could conclude that the deliberate harming of human embryos and fetuses is a form of genocide. Abortion, therefore, in any form is murder!"